English Courses

Through a challenging academic curriculum, in the English Department you'll learn to read and write effectively. As a third-former you'll study literary genres and begin a formal study of English grammar; as a fourth and fifth-former you'll survey British and American literature. After this grounding in a traditional course of study, as a sixth-former you'll either enroll in the year-long AP Literature and Composition course or choose from a variety of electives, ranging from Screenwriting to Russian Literature. (You can see a list of this year's electives in the English 4 course description below.)

Courses at every level are increasingly practicing creative writing in a variety of forms: short fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, and drama. Our thought is that practicing writers are perceptive critics. Still, you'll most often be engaged in developing your understanding of literature that matters. To further that development, you'll work with your classmates in discussions led by teachers with a passion for their field, and you'll present your best ideas in writing.

In addition to the support available from your classroom teacher, The Writing Lab provides assistance for Kent students in improving their writing skills. You can meet one-on-one with a faculty member who helps students learn how to plan, draft, revise, and edit their own essays. Students usually schedule their visits to the Writing Lab, but there are also weekly drop-in hours.

English 1
English 1 introduces you to literary genres: poetry, short stories, novels, essays, and plays. You'll study grammar and usage as means to improve your writing. You'll write essays, both personal and analytical, and be encouraged to get involved in class discussions. Works studied vary from teacher to teacher, but you can count on reading Shakespeare and major novels.

English 2
English 2 student sread British literature: Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, and Romantic, Victorian, and modern poetry, prose, and drama. You'll study grammar formally, write frequent analytical essays, and perhaps try your hand at writing poetry. In English 2 an honors (A) section is offered each year.

English 3
English 3 students survey American literature from the early nineteenth century to the present. You'll read Transcendentalist essays, slave narratives, short fiction, novels, plays, and poems. Honors sections are offered at this level.

English 4
If you're a qualified sixth former, you might be enrolled in the year-long AP Literature and Composition. Alternatively, you might prefer the flexibility and focus of the sixth-form electives. All sixth formers not enrolled in the AP course take a fall term course that considers the demands of narrative and lyrical writing, in poetry, short stories, essays, and Hamlet—and they write personal essays in preparation for the college application process. For the winter and the spring terms, you can choose from a list of elective offerings (students in AP English are also eligible for electives courses during the winter and spring terms).

The wide variety of English courses at Kent includes:

English 1
English 2
Honors English 2
English 3
Honors English 3
AP English Literature
English 4
† Acting - Scenes and Monologues
† The Art of the Personal Essay
† Jane Austen
† Contemporary American Drama
† Hunger and Desire
† Literature and Religion
† Memoir
† Neither Dead nor White nor Male: Contemporary Writing from "Minority" Women Writers
† Reading and Writing Short Fiction
† Russian Literature
† Screenwriting
† Shakespeare for the Stage
† Spanish Comedy

† Term-contained Course

Summer Reading, Required and Suggested
All Kent students, returning and entering are required to read a specific book during the summer (though we hope that you'll read many more than that). You can check out the current summer reading here.